Consumers Have Several Options To Eliminate Debt
A lowered economic situation and the explosion in the real estate market bubble has forced borrowers to the breaking point so they aren’t able to make the payments on their credit cards and consumer debt. For people in this situation trying to find a way to fix their problem, they often decide the only thing they can do is decide between assorted debt relief possibilities. These possibilities include counseling, consolidation, bankruptcy, and settlement. Out of these, debt settlement and filing for bankruptcy are what most people chose because of the pros in regards to getting rid of their existing payments and the amount they can reduce their existing debt.
Bankruptcy is most commonly filed as a chapter seven or chapter thirteen. A chapter seven is the superior option, with debt being reduced or even dismissed entirely in some fortunate cases. However, it's not up to you to decide what chapter you file under! Since 2005, significant legal revisions have made it so that the court decides which chapter a bankruptcy is filed under, not the debtor. A means test, which is the first procedure to start up a proper bankruptcy filing, evaluates your income and expenses versus the standards for redeeming the debt. Falling short of the IRS-set standards of the means test will allow you to file a chapter seven. However, if you can even pay as little as a hundred dollars monthly towards your debt, then you will have to deal with a chapter thirteen filing instead.
Chapter thirteen is the most common form of bankruptcy filing today due to the restrictions on getting a chapter seven. It's not nearly as friendly as a chapter seven, and the whole process is overseen by a legal representative of the court. No one wants to have a stranger checking up on their daily, weekly, or monthly budgets. Furthermore, the chances of getting the kind of debt reduction that a chapter seven grants is slim with a chapter thirteen. This is why recently more people are striving to avoid bankruptcy filings and go for debt settlements instead.
Debt settlement or negotation is the new kid on the block as far as debt-handling options go. It offers many very drastic and bold advantages to entice debtors into using the service over other more traditional options. Debts bundled into a settlement often have a reduction of up to fifty percent in payment rates, which takes a huge amount of immediate pressure off of people struggling to pay back their loans. Many different kinds of debts can be rolled into a settlement, from medical and credit card to utility bills. Settlement processes can also reassure lenders that they'll be getting at least some of their money back, and informing them that you have a settlement underway will reassure them, discouraging aggressive legal measures against you.
Settlement will generally result in an overall debt reduction of fifty percent, but it can climb as high as almost three-fourths of your total debt in exceptional circumstances. Combined with the reduction in monthly payments, this results in less financial pressure, allowing you to pay things back and get back to zero more quickly for a fresh start. Most settlement payment processes will run for no longer than four years, but within that time period are reasonably flexible according to the needs of the debtor. This may seem like an extremely short amount of time for large loans such as mortgages, but the loan and payment reductions allow this kind of time limit to be practical.
Debt elimination programs can reduce outstanding balances by 40 to 70%, depending on the specific creditor. In general the average account included in a settlement will be reduced by 50%. The process provides added security for assets that represent a security interest. By reducing payments and eliminating a major portion of unsecured debt relieves pressure on secured assets. Debt settlement is often combined with mortgage loan modifications to help homeowners reduce their total payments toward debt and get for new mortgage terms. Most debt elimination programs terminate within 48 months, the same account with minimum payment could take over 20 years to payoff. The settlement of accounts allows for borrowers to begin the process of re-building their credit scores faster than bankruptcy which can remain on a consumer’s credit report for up to ten years.
This article has spent a fair amount of time praising debt settlement and pointing out the disadvantages of bankruptcy. But the truth is, there is no one right procedure that fits all people in all circumstances. You should analyze your situation either on your own or with the help of a financial expert, and then make a decision about what procedure is most likely to give you the best possible outcome.
Tags: Debt, debt consolidation, Loan consolidation, Loans